Valve member and method of making the same



1961 E. c. KIEKHAEFER 2,995,126

VALVE MEMBER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed March 12, 1959INVENTOR. J'ELMEB E. KIEKHAEFER Ovt'forneqs United 2,995,126 VALVEMEN/BER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer, 157 WesternAve., Cedarburg, Wis. Filed Mar. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 798,993 4 Claims.(Cl. 123-142) This invention relates to a valve member and method ofmaking the same and which has been applied to the air inlet for anoutboard motor cowl.

The engine cowl of an outboard motor is commonly provided with an airinlet for the admission of combustion air. Generally, the inletcomprises a grilled portion which passes a considerable amount of enginenoise. At high speed operation, wind and other boat noises tend to maskthe noises emanating from the engine. At idle or low speed operation theengine noise remains at a high level. It is generally an.- object ofthis invention to provide an air inlet construction which willmaterially reduce the noise passing through the inlet during idle or lowspeed operation.

According to this invention, the outboard motor cowl is provided with arearwardly facing air inlet opening. This opening is adapted to receivean inlet valve of molded rubber construction which comprises a pluralityof flexible vanes which open and close in response to the pressuredifferential existing between the inside of the cowl and the atmosphereoutside the cowl. The degree of vane opening is generally proportionalto the pressure differential which in turn is determined by the quantityof combustion air required by the engine. Thus, at maximum speed thevanes would be open to their fullest extent. During low speed or idleoperation, the vanes would be barely open, and consequently willmaterially reduce the amount of noise passing therethrough.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the best mode presentlycontemplated for carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a rear perspective view of a portion of an engine cowl andshows the inlet construction of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective of the inlet valve member andfurther shows the retaining members for securing the valve member withinthe cowl opening provided therefor;

FIGURE 3 is a partial elevation of the inlet valve member as viewed frominside the cowl;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken generally on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1showing the valve member mounted within the cowl opening andadditionally shows a screen disposed outwardly of the valve member;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the valve member with parts broken away andsectioned; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIGURE 3 tomore clearly show the vaned construction of the valve member.

Referring to the drawings, the air inlet valve member 1 is mounted in agenerally rectangular opening 2 provided rearwardly in the outboardmotor cowl 3 as shown in FIGURE 1, and serves to admit combustion airfor the engine, not shown, enclosed by the cowl.

The air inlet valve member 1 is an integral member of moldedconstruction made of neoprene, rubber or the like. The valve membercomprises a generally rectangular body portion 4 which surrounds andsupports a bank of vertically extending V-shaped portions 5. An upperflange 6 and lower flange 7 extend rearwardly from the body portion 4and are adapted for securement to the cowl 3 to seat the valve member 1within the opening 2.

Each of the V-shaped portions 5 includes a rearwardly the valve member.

7 2,995,126 Patented Aug. 8, 1961 disposed apex portion 8 which extendsvertically between the upper and lower reaches of the rectangular bodyportion 4 and is secured thereto. The V-shaped portions 5 furtherinclude the diverging vanes 9 which extend inwardly from the apexportion 8 and generally between the upper and lower reaches of bodyportion 4. The vanes 9 of adjacent V-shaped portions 5 are adapted toflex open to admit combustion air through the valve openings 10 betweenthe V-shaped portions 5 of the valve member in response to a pressuredifferential across the member. When the motor is not running the vanes9 of adjacent V-shaped portions 5 generally abut each other at theirinner extremity to close the valve openings 10 of The small reliefcavities 11 are formed in the upper and lower reaches of the bodyportion 4 inwardly from the apex portions 8 so as not to impede flexureof the vanes 9.

In its manufacture, the valve member 1 is molded as an integral memberand the bank of V-shaped portions 5 is formed as a closed, continuouscorrugated section. After the molding operation is completed, theindividual V-shaped portions 5 are formed by a series of cuttingoperations. The upper and lower extremities of vanes 9 are cut free fromthe upper and lower reaches of the body portion 4 inwardly from the apexportions 8 and the vanes 9 of adjacent V-shaped portions 5 are parted toform the valve openings 10.

The air inlet valve member 1 is adapted to be seated across the opening2 in the cowl 3. The opening 2 is formed between vertically stepped cowlportions 12 and 13 which are engaged by the corresponding flanges 6 and7 of the valve member. The upper narrow flange 6 of the valve member isassembled between the retainer bracket 14 and the cowl portion 12 and issecured to the cowl by means of the screws 15 which extend through theassembly. The lower wide flange 7 of the valve member extends beneaththe cowl portion 13 and is assembled between the cowl portion and theretainer bracket 16 and is secured to the cowl by means of screws 17. Ifdesired, a screen 18 may be placed across the opening 2 rearwardly ofthe bank of vanes 5 as shown in FIG. 4 to prevent larger bits of foreignmatter frequently carried by the air from entering through the valvemember 1.

During periods when the motor is not operating there is no pressuredifferential across the valve member and the valve openings 10 generallyremain closed. During operation of the motor, the engine requirementsfor combustion air create a pressure difierential across the valvemember 1 to flex the vanes 9 to an open position and permit passage ofair to the interior of the cowl. The size of the valve openings 10 isgenerally determined by the extent of the pressure differential betweenthe inside and the outside of the cowl, and this in turn is dependent onthe engine requirements. Generally, at high speed operation, the valveopenings 10 will be open to their fullest extent to permit a maximumflow of air into the cowl. At idle and low speed operation, on the otherhand, the valve openings 10 may be nearly closed.

This diflerence of valve accommodation between high speed and idle orlow speed operation is very important from a noise standpoint. At highspeed operation, the engine noise passing through the open valve memberis generally only a fraction of the total noise inside with high speedmotor operation. Generally, wind and other boat noises substantiallymask or drown out the engine noises passing through the valve member. Atidle or low speed operation, however, the engine noise can be asignificant portion of the total noise incident with operation of themotor. With the openings 10 of the air inlet valve member of thisinvention nearly closed at idle or low speed operation, the engine noisepassing therethrough will be materially reduced, resulting in a lessertotal noise level. With the inlet opening 2 disposed rearwardly of thecowl, it should be noted, too, that whatever noise does pass through thevalve member is directed rearwardly away from the operator.

The invention provides a further advantage as a safety feature. In theevent of an internal explosion within the cowl, the flexible vanespermit the expanding gases to discharge through the cowl opening 2 andthereby reduce the pressure buildup within the cowl and remove thedanger of cowl failure. Placing the inlet opening 2 in the rearwardportion of the cowl assures that the gases resulting from such a mishapwill be directed away from the operator.

The invention as herein described and illustrated has been applied tooutboard motors. In its broader aspect the valve of this invention maybe applicable to other uses.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

I claim:

1. In an outboard motor having a cowl forming an internal-combustionengine chamber, said cowl having an inlet through which air passes forengine combustion, a valve member disposed in said inlet and havingflexible vanes, said vanes being disposed in pairs with the ends thereofnormally being in engagement to close the valve member, each said pairof vanes being adapted to flex open in response to a pressuredifferential between the inside and outside of the cowl to provide foradmission of combustion air into the cow].

2. In an outboard motor having a cowl forming an internal-combustionengine chamber, said cowl having an inlet through which air passes forengine combustion, a valve member disposed across said inlet andcomprising a bank of V-shaped portions, said V-shaped portions eachincluding an apex portion and a pair of flexible divergent vanesextending from the apex portion, the ends of the vanes opposite from theapex portion normally engaging the corresponding end of the vane of theadjacent V-shaped portion to close the inlet, the vanes of adjacentV-shaped portions being adapted to flex to an open position in responseto a pressure difierential 4 between the inside and outside of the cowlto form valve openings therebetween for the admission of combustion arr.

3. In an outboard motor having a cowl forming an internal-combustionengine chamber, said cowl having an inlet through which air passes forengine combustion, a valve member of molded rubber or the likecomprising a body portion adapted to be secured to the cowl and acrosssaid inlet, a series of V-shaped portions disposed within said bodyportions, said V-shaped portions each including an apex portion moldedintegrally with the body portion and a pair of flexible divergent vanesextending from the apex portion, the ends of the vanes opposite from theapex portion normally engaging the corresponding end of the vane of theadjacent V-shaped portion to close the inlet, the vanes of adjacentV-shaped portions being adapted to flex to an open position in responseto a pressure difierential between the inside and outside of the cowl toform valve openings therebetween for the admission of combustion air.

4. A molded rubber valve member, comprising a generally rectangular bodyportion, a bank of parallel V- shaped portions extending side by sidebetween the upper and lower reaches of said body portion, said V-shapedportions each including an apex portion secured between the reaches ofsaid body portion at one side and a pair of flexible divergent vanesextending from the apex portion to the other side of said body portion,the edges of the vanes opposite from the apex portions normally engagingthe edge of the vane of the adjacent V-shaped portion to close thevalve, the vanes of adjacent V-shaped portions being adapted to flex toan open position wherein said normally engaging edges are at leastpartially separated in response to a fluid pressure on the apex sideproviding a differential across the valve to form valve openingstherebetween for the passage of a fluid from the apex side to theopposite side of the valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,925,684 Anschicks Sept. 5, 1933 2,028,387 Forrnan Jan. 21, 19362,315,910 Thielker Apr. 6, 1943 2,411,693 Peare et al Nov. 26, 1946

